Heater for automobiles



April 30,' 1940.' 7 .w. fms|v:| v 2.198.875

` HEATER FOR .AUTOMOBILES Filed `June 27, *1955 '2 snets-sheeti .v mlNTHHHN/mba April 30,1940.

W. KARSEL v HEATER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Juge 27, ls's 2 sheets-sheet 2y 'Patented nplr..3o',1l9iio i HEATER. Fon an'rouomus William Karsel,(lhicago, Ill., assixnor to Stcwarty Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill.,a corporation of Virginia Application :une 21, 193s, sgrmm. aan? l 7claims. (c1. zar-1am.'

This invention relates to heaters for motor vehicles and is particularlyadapted for use with automobiles having internal combustion engines.

The objects of this invention are to provide an improved heater of thecharacter set forth in which the heat is suppliedl by` means of asuitable burner and is transferred to the body of the vehicle by meansof a suitable fluid such as steam or the like; to provide a novelheating apparatus for automobiles, having a steam generator and aradiator, and means 'for transferring the' steam fromthe generator tothe radiator; to provide a heating apparatus for motor vehiclesincluding a radiator and novel means for mounting the same yon the bodyof the vehicle and supporting a distributing fan thereon; to provide aheater for automobiles or the like including a combustion chamber and asteam generating chamber associated therewith, and improved fuel feedingmeans,

and means for withdrawingthe gases of combustion from the combustionchamber; and to provide such other advantages and improvements as willappear more fully from the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 'l is a longitudinal sectional Viewv showing my heater as applied'to the dash-board or wall of a vehicle, parts being broken away orshown diagrammatically for convenience in illustration;

. Figure 2 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view showing the adjustable air controllingmechanism;

Figure 4 is a sectional detail taken on ythe line 4 4 of Figure 1showing the circuit making and breaking device; Figure5 is a wiringdiagram showing the circuits for the ignition device; and l Figure 6 isa sectional detail showing a modied connection between the steamgenerator and the radiator.A

As shown in these drawings, 1 indicates generally a steam generatorwhich is arranged adjacent to the dash-board or wall 8 of thevehicle'and 9 indicates generally the heat distributing appara-- tuspositioned within the body of the vehicle and connected to the steamgenerator by any suitable connecting means. 'Then generator 1 has acombustion chamber ill with a plurality of baille plates il fordirecting the movement of the gases therethrough and for transmitting.heat to the walls of the cylinder or receptacle l2 enclosing thechamber. The cylinder is provided at its upper end with an intakeopening i3 in which is iitted a carburetor or gas mixer I4 rof anysuitable kind. This mixer is preferably provided with an adjusting'screw i5A for controlling the fuel and a rotatable disc or ldamper I6for controlling theair. It is also provided with an in- 5 wardlyprojecting pipe I1 having a plurality of small holes i8 t'o insure theproper mixing of thev air and fuel before entering the chamber. A fuelsupply pipe I9 leads from the mixer i4 to a source of gasoline or othersuitable fuel supply 10 such as the carburetor 20 of thel vehicleengine.

The combustion chamber I0 is enc1osed-or surrounded by a jacket 2i whichis spaced therefrom to provide a water or steam generating chamber 22.Water is supplied to this chamber through 15 an inlet 23 having a plug24, the upper end of the inlet terminating ata predetermined distanceabove the bottom of the chamber, as indicated, so that a limitedamount'of water may be placed in the generating chamber. 20

The fuel intake is lpreferably automatically controlled by the steampressure. In order to do thisa pipe 25 leads to a control valve- 26inthe pipe I9. This control valve may be of any desired kind such asused for this purpose and preferably 25 has a diaphragm 2l which coactswith the valve stem 28 for closing the valve and also` prevents steamfrom entering the intake. pipe. 'I'he valve is preferably held innormally open position by means of a spring 29, which is positionedbetween 30 the diaphragm and the adjacent `portion of the valve body asillustrated.

The fuel is ignited by any suitable ignition device such as a spark plug30 which projects through an opening u3| in the combustion recep- 35tacle and isvadapted to ignite the mixture therein in a well-knownmanner. Any suitable means such as commonly used for-supplyingelectricity for the spark plug maybe utilized, as for instance avibrating coil or the like, but I prefer to use a 40 circuit andcontrolling larrangement such as will presently be described. l

The furnace or combustion chamber i0 is provided -with an outlet pipe 32which leads from the .bottom thereof to the intake manifold of the 45vehicle engine als indicated. at 38. This provides a positive suctionfor withdrawing-the products of combustion andy insures` a suitabledraft `through lthe combustion chamber for drawing in the air and fueliMy improved heat exchange devices which are located within thebody ofthe vehicle include a radiator 34 having a hollow body portion 35 ,witha combined inlet and outletconnection for a hollow lug t8 'whichextendsndownwardl'y and out- 55` 2 wardly from the lower corner of thebodyl portion 35, the lower wall of which is preferably provided with agroove or downwardly sloping channel 31 to insure the vreturn of thewater of condensation from the radiator. 'I'he lug or connection 36 hasa threaded extension 38 which extends through a hole in thefdash or wall8 and which is provided with anut 39 for drawing the shoulder or flange48 on the connection against the opposite face of the dash, thusproviding a simple arrangement for fastening the radiator and associatedparts in position. A pipe 4I leads from the c'onnectionf 36 to 'aconnection or hollow lug 42 extending upwardly and'outwardly from thesteam chamber 22 as shown particularly in Figure 1. The body portion ofthe radiator 35 also has a hollow lug or connection 43 which is providedwith an air outlet or escape valve 44 to provide for the escape of airin the system'when the heater is started.

The body portion of the radiator 4is provided with a plurality ofencircling fins or ribs 45 which are preferably formed integrallytherewithl and which, together wtih the projecting ttings are connectedwith a shell or casing 46 which encloses the main portion of theradiator as shown in Figures l and-"2 but which is open at the top andbottom. It will be seen that vertical pasl sageways 41 are thus providedaround the radia- V"tor body for the circulation of air.

A fan motor 48 is mounted on a plate 48 which is secured to the top ofthe casing 46 by means of screws 50, this plate having openings 5|forthe free passage of air therethrough. The fan 52 is mountedon the shaft53 of the motorand is arranged in the space between the radiator and theplate 49. The motor is supplied with current from a battery 54 or othersource of electric supply through a supply wire 55 having a switch 56therein, the opposite brush or terminal of the motor being connected bya wire 51 to ground,- which furnishes a return to the battery in theusual manner, as shown in Figure 5. The

current supply to the spark plug 38 is preferably` controlled by themotor 48. In order to do this a Wire 58 leads from the wire 55 to therotor 58 of a commutator `or circuit breaker, this rotor being mountedon the shaft 53 of the motor. The brush or contact 68 of the circuitbreaker is connected by wire 6 l with one terminal of a high tensioncoil 62, the opposite terminal of which is grounded by means of a wire63 or in any other suitable manner. A high tension wire 64 leads fromthe supplied thereto.

coil :59 to the spark plug whereby current is The lower end of the shellor casing 46 is closed by a plate 65 which is secured by screws 66 andwhich has an annular opening 61 for receiving a rotatable disc 68 havinga plurality of parallel openings 68. These openings are controlled bymeans of adjustable louvers or shutters 10 which are pivoted at 1| tothe disc. The louvers have short upwardly projecting arms 12 which areconnected by links or wires 13 so that they may be operatedsimultaneously. The end link or' arm 12 is connected by a link or rod 14with a slide or thumb piece 15 which is slidably mounted in a slot 16 inthe disc. The louvers or slats 18 may be adjusted by moving. the tliumb,piece 15 and the disc may also be rotated by means of this thumb pieceto direct the air in any desired direction.

When the heater is to be used, fuel is admitted through a shut-o valve11 in the pipe I8 and the motor 48 is started by closing the switch 56.The

suction from the engine causes air and fuel to be vpipe 4I to theradiator and will heat the surrounding air which is driven over the sameby the fan.'52. The air passing over the radiator and Ynection 8| withan inlet opening 82 for receiv- In some instances however, currentmay bemo- 5 m'entarily supplied' and the combustion will be continued duetothe initial ignition of the fuel inthe chamber; As soon as steam isYgenerated it will pass up through the supply andreturn throughthehousing or casing may be vdirected vby. means of `adjustment of thedisc 68 and the louvers mounted thereon as above described. Thecharacter of the burning or flame in the combustion 'chamber may benoted through a sight or observation tube 18 having a transparenteye-piece 18 so that the mixture may be proper-` ly adjusted. When thesteam pressure is raised to a predetermined amount the pressure on thediaphragm 21 will cause the valve 26 to be closed or partly closed andthus the fuel supply will be adjusted automatically in accordance withthe heat requirements. When the fan is stopped the current will also becut oif from the spark plug and stop the further operation of theburner. In addition to the provision of a forced circulation through thecombustion chamber, the connection with the intake manifold will alsoserve to quickly heat the gases for the engine and thus vimprove theengine operation during cold weather. Furthermore, in the event ofincomplete combustion in the combustion' chamber any combustible gaseswill pass into the engine for power purposes.

The modification shown in Figure 6 ilustrates a slightly differentarrangement for connecting the steam chamber with the radiator. In thisarrangementthe radiator 86' has a threaded coning the inlet pipe 83which is connected with the upper portion of the steam chamber 84. Thisthreaded connection also has an outlet opening 85 which is connected bymeans of a return pipe 86 with an opening 81 in the bottom of the steamchamber 84. With this arrangement the water of condensation may passdown through the return pipe and thus insure a more rapid circulationthan where it passes back through the steam pipe as in the form justdescribed.

From this description it will be seen that I provide a steam heatingapparatus for automobiles in which the amount of heat furnished isindependent of the heat of the engine and therefore any desired amountof heat may be readily produced and conveniently distributed in order toproperly heat the body orv closed part of the vehicle. While I haveshown a preferred form cf my invention it may bechanged in theconstruction or arrangement of the parts in order to adapt it fordifferent vehicles or different conditions, and therefore I do not wishto be limited to the particular arrangement herein shown and described,except as specified in `the following 65 means for supplying fuel 7(radiator mounted in the space to be heated, and means connecting theradiator with the steam generating chamber, said means comprising aconduit of suiiicient cross sectional area to permit concurrent flow of'steam from said generating chamber to said radiator and flow ofcondensate in the opposite direction.

2. The combination with an automotive vehicle having an internalcombustion engine, of a substantially closed furnace, a conduit from thefurnace to the fuel supply of the vehicle, an outlet conduit from thefurnace to the intakeof the vehicle engine, means for igniting the fuelin the furnace, a steam generating chamber operatively associated withthe furnace, means for introducing a predetermined amount of water inthe steam chamber, means actuated by the pressure in the steam chamberfor controlling the fuel supply to the furnace, a radiator mounted inthe vehicle body, a conduit connecting the radiator with the steamchamber, and a fan for circulating air around the radiator. v

3. An apparatus for heating automobiles having internal-combustionengines, including a coinbustion chamber separate from the automobileengine, means for supplying fuel from the vehicle. carburetor to thecombustion chamber, a mimng valve for mixing air with the fuel, meansfor igniting the mixture in the chamber,l an ex` haust pipe from thechamber to the intake manifold of the engine, a jacket surrounding saidchamber, means for supplyingl water to the jacket. means responsive tothe pressure in said water jacket to control the rate of supply of fuelto said combustion chamber, an outlet pipe leading from said jacket, aradiator connected with said outlet pipe, a casing enclosing saidradiator, an electric fan for'forcing air through the casing, and meansfor controlling and directing the movement of the air passing from thecasing.

4. The vcombination with an automobile having an internal combustionengine and having a fuel'supplyof a combustion chamber separate from theautomobile engine, a mixer for fuel and air connected with said chamber,a fuel supply pipe from the mixer tothe fuelsupplyof the automobile.bames arranged in said chamber, an

'outlet pipe from the bottom of the chamber connected with the intakemanifold of the automobile, a spark plug for igniting the mixture insaid housing, a steam generating chamber surrounding the combustionchamber, a control valve in the fuel supply pipe,` means connecting thevalve with the steam chamber tending to close the valve when the steamreaches 'a predetermined pressure, a radiator mounted in the vehiclebody and comprising a receptacle having a plurality of uns projectingtherefrom. means providing a passageway for steam connecting thereceptacle with the steam housing, a casingenclosing said radiatorreceptacle, an apertured plate secured to the top of the casing, anelectric fan mounted on said plate for forcing air through the casing. adisc rotatably mounted inthe bottom of the casing.

l 3 openings in said disc, shutters for controlling said openings, andmeans for actuating said shutters.

v5. The combination with an automobile having a closed body and adash-board, and havingV an internal combustion'engine, of a'substantially closed cylinder, a generator valve connected with,

the intake of the cylinder, a lfuel supply pipe from the generator valveto the carburetor of the en gine, baiiles arranged in said cylinder fordeecting the gases passing therethrough, an exhausty outlet from saidcylinder, a steam chamber around the cylinder, a pressure actuatedcontrol valve for controlling the fuel supply to the' cylinder, apassageway from the steam chamber to the control valve, a spark plugmounted in the cylinder, a radiator, connections from the radiator tothe steam chamber, an electric fan arranged to force air around theradiator, a circuit from a source of electricity to the fan, a hightension coil, a circuit from the same source of electricity to thecoil,an interrupter `actuated by the motor arranged in the coil circuit, anda high tension wire from the coil to the spark plug.

6. In a motor vehicle provided with an internal combustion yengine and afuel supply for the same and having a closed body, the combination of acombustion chamber separate from the engine and arranged outside of thebody, a steam generator operatively associated with the combustionchamber. a radiator mounted Within the vehicle body, a conduit from theradiator to the steam generator for conducting steam from said generatorto said radiator and for conducting condensate in the reverse direction,means connecting the combustion chamber with said fuel supply and withthe atmosphere for supplying a combustible mixture to the combustionchamber, means for igniting said mixture, and an exhaust outlet leadingfrom said combustion chamber to the intake manifold of the engine.

7. The combination with an automobile having an internal combustionengine, of a substantially closed cylinder, means for supplying fuelwill result in a reduction in the rate at which the fuel is supplied tothe combustion chamber and vice versa, a spark plug mounted in thecylinder, a radiator, steam connections from the radiator to the steamchamber, an electric. fan for forcing air around the radiator, a circuitfrom a source of electricity to the fan, and means controlled by sourceto the spark plug.

the fan motor for supplying electricity from said 0

